


Unlikely Encounters

by weathered_spice



Series: Unlikely Encounters [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV), Teen Wolf (TV) RPF
Genre: Alpha Derek, Derek Hale is a Softie, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Minor Violence, Protective Derek, kate sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 09:50:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19170826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weathered_spice/pseuds/weathered_spice
Summary: Anna finds herself immersed in the supernatural world of Beacon Hills. She is still facing demons from her past, but finds a friend, protector, and maybe something more in Derek Hale.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - This is my first public fanfic…I don’t know if it’s any good, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Enjoy!

I heard the second bell go off and I sighed. I was officially late for class. There went that perfect attendance record. I spun the dial on my lock, looking up and down the hall for the hall monitors. I could not afford to go to detention, it would screw up my whole schedule. I saw no hall monitors, just a tall man stumbling down the hall, his skin a sickly pallor, his fingers clenched in fists. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. I walked over to him, but he didn’t notice me until I stood right in front of him. Despite his pained expression, I couldn’t help but notice how perfect his face was. His eyes, his jaw, even his nose, everything about him said strength.

“Are you okay?” my voice came out softer than I meant it too, and I cursed at my hyperactive imagination. “Scott,” he croaked, “I need to find Scott McCall.” I noticed a faint trail of blood making its way down his palm onto the floor. It was dark red, almost black. I put a hand to my stomach, ordering myself not to throw up. “You need a hospital. Not Scott.” I took his good hand boldly, and maneuvered myself so that his arm was around my shoulder, and I was supporting most of his weight; which was a lot. I faltered for a second, and then straightened up. I looked up at his face, and his eyes closed briefly, as if the pain had lessened. “I need Scott. Please.”

I bit my lip, deciding whether I should bring him to the main office and let them deal with it, or bring him to Scott. I knew where Scott was, we had the same classes. I sighed and began walking/dragging him with me, in the direction of class. I let him lean against the wall as I popped my head into the class, noting Scott immediately, staring at Allison as usual. I turned to the teacher, Ms. Brightside, and said, “Hi Miss. Sorry to interrupt, but the office needs Scott right now. It’s a family emergency.” I winced as the words fell out of my mouth, certain she could tell I was lying. To my surprise, she nodded quickly at Scott, before returning to her lesson. Scott gave me a strange look as he gathered his things, and I could feel Allison’s eyes on me as well. I hoped my cheeks weren’t flushing, it would give everything away. As soon as Scott walked out of the classroom and laid eyes on the man, his eyes flashed in understanding.

"Derek.” He said walking over to the man. I mulled the name over in my head, it sounded fitting. Derek’s eyes seemed to clear a little when they focused on Scott, and I could hear him muttering to Scott. Scott turned to me then, his eyes pleading, his shoulders tensed. “I need a favour. It’s huge, and I can’t explain it right now, but if you don’t help me, he’s going to die. Please. I need this.” I felt myself nodding, taken aback by the passion in his voice. “What is it?” He glanced back before saying, “I need you to take him to the animal clinic. There’s a key under the welcome mat. Bring him inside and lock the door. The vet won’t be in. And don’t open the door for anyone other than me okay? Promise me.” I bit the inside of my cheek before nodding. Scott grabbed my hand and squeezed it lightly before saying, “Thank you, so, so much”. I moved towards Derek, grabbing his hand lightly in mine, moving his arm over my shoulder, folding once more under his weight. I placed my other hand around his back, trying to balance his weight. I felt my cheeks heat at the thought of someone seeing us. To anyone else, we would look like a couple. I ducked my head down, hoping no one would see us. I didn’t want any rumours floating around about me. We finally got to my car, where I practically stuffed Derek into the passenger seat. I walked around to the driver’s side and swung myself in, my hands shaking. I gripped the steering wheel tightly, and began heading towards the animal clinic. I glanced over at Derek intermittently, worried about him. His eyes fluttered occasionally, making me focus on his impossibly long eyelashes.

"Don’t fall asleep.” He nodded weakly, before letting his eyes droop further. “Derek.” The sound of his name jolted him out of his slump, and he looked over at me. I had the feeling that he was really seeing me now. “You can’t fall asleep. You can’t. Alright? Stay awake. Talk to me.” He laughed, and then groaned in pain. “About what?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Anything.” He grimaced as we passed over another bump in the road. “All I can think about right now, is how much pain I’m in.” I looked over at him, worried by the sudden pain in his voice. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his arms were tensed. Yet, when I looked down, his fingers were shaking. I took a deep breath, and reached out to hold his hand in mine. I squeezed his hand slightly, but didn’t let go. “It’s going to be fine. I promise. Okay?” he nodded sleepily, his eyes barely staying open.

We finally got to the animal clinic. I dragged Derek out of the car once more, reached under the mat, grabbed the key and opened the door. The building was quiet, humble, in a way. I locked the door behind us, and we moved deeper into the building. Eventually we came to the diagnosis room. A large steel table was set up in the middle, presumably for the pets. Derek dragged himself over and sat atop of it, looking like he might pass out. I rushed over, and pulled on his jacket. “We need to take this off. I have to see what’s wrong.” He nodded mutely, before slipping off his leather jacket. I barely had time to note the tank top he wore, his bulging biceps, his impeccable physique, before I focused in on the gaping hole in his arm. It oozed black blood, and the skin around it had turned a pale gray colour. The veins surrounding that were coursing with black blood.

I touched my fingers to my lips, trying to stop them from quivering. I couldn’t let him see my panic. No, that would not be good. I pressed my fingers into his shoulder, trying to get him to lie back. His torso hit the steel metal of the table with a thud. I bit my lip and crossed the room to where the wall was lined with cabinets, and a sink. I searched through them quickly, finding a wash cloth. I wet it with cold water, before wringing it out. I crossed back to Derek, pulled up a chair, and proceeded to pat his face down with the damp cloth. It had always calmed when my mother had done it, and I hoped it would have the same effect on Derek. I placed my fingers on his arm, close to his horrific wound. I traced tiny circles around his arm, hoping the ticklish sensation might slightly distract him from the pain he was in. 

I looked back at his face to find his eyes staring back at me. “Thank you.” he said, his voice full of emotion. I felt my cheeks heat up as he continued to stare at me. I shook my head distractedly, “It’s fine. I just hope Scott gets here soon. I don’t think I’m helping much.” He shook his head slightly. “I can feel how much you care.” He gazed at me deeply before continuing, “And I can feel how scared you are. Worried, actually. About me. A complete stranger.”

I bit my lip; I had noticed the bleeding start to thicken. “Don’t exert yourself. Just try and relax.” I intoned, trying to sound calmer than I felt. I moved my hand away from his arm and onto his face. I brushed his short hair back from his brow, again and again. The movement calmed me, and I felt it calmed him too, for he closed his eyes and his breath grew less laboured.

After about a half hour, I heard keys jingle by the front door. I moved closer to Derek, hovering over him protectively. A half second later, Scott burst into the room, followed by his best friend Stiles. The two never went anywhere without each other. Scott walked over to Derek, holding something silver in his hand. It looked like a bullet. Derek sat up unsteadily and took the bullet in his shaking fingers. He promptly dropped it and the bullet rolled into the grates of the floor. Derek began to squirm in pain, and I walked over to him quickly while Stiles and Scott searched the floor for the bullet. I grasped Derek’s forearms, his strong fingers circling around my wrists. I gripped him tightly and started whispering to him, “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. I promise. I promise.” The words fell out easily, but they felt like lies. I had never seen anyone die, and I was worried Derek would be my first.

I heard Scott walk over and place the bullet once more in Derek’s hand. I heard Derek’s raspy voice, and turned to see his eyes boring into mine. “Get her out of here. She can’t see this.” When no one made a move towards me, Derek turned to Scott, “Do you want her to die? Get her out of here!” Stiles turned to me and grabbed my hand, leading me out of the room. For such a thin boy, his grip was incredibly strong. “Wait. What’s happening?” I tried to turn back but I couldn’t, his grip was too strong. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. Go home. You’ll be safer there. And this never happened, alright?”

Normally I would’ve argued, but the scared look on his face stunned me into silence. “Go home,” he repeated again. I stumbled backward catching myself against the door, turning towards the night. "He’ll be okay, right?” I asked, turning back. He nodded quickly before disappearing into the backroom.

I bit my lip before I retreated outside. I was worried. He looked like he was going to die. He needed a hospital, not some silver bullet. What was that for anyways? I heard an agonized scream come from the clinic, and that was all I needed. I ran back in, towards the back room. I entered just in time to see Derek get up from the floor, his eyes flashing icy blue. I looked to his arm to see his wound close in on itself, almost by magic. Within a second, the skin appeared new and fresh. No scar, no blood, nothing. As if it had all been a dream. I pinched my arm quickly, and the pain confirmed reality.

Derek’s eyes focused on me. “What the hell?” he yelled, his eyes flashing dangerously, yet at the same time, he looked worried. “Go! Now.” His voice was so soft, so perfectly calm, laced with danger that I did what he said. I stumbled backwards and made my way to my car and back to my house. Once inside the empty house I sat on my bed for what seemed like hours, trying to calm my shaking hands, my thudding heart. What had happened? Was he okay? How did his wound close? Why did he want me gone so badly? Although the other questions were more important, it was the last one that actually hurt to think about. It was stupid, but I felt that those minutes on the road, the hours in the clinic…they had bonded us. A feeling that was obviously not reciprocated.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - hope you like it, I’m kind of taking the storyline from the show and twisting it up…any feedback would be great!

I fell asleep with my head against the window sill, still in my school clothes. I woke in the middle of the night to the sound of rocks against glass. I opened my eyes groggily, and looked out the window to see a figure pedalling away. I cocooned myself in a blanket, suddenly feeling exposed, and inspected the window for any damage. I found no cracks, but I did see a brown manila envelope leaning against the glass of the window. I opened the window quickly and grabbed the envelope. I closed the window and blinds and opened the envelope. Inside it was a picture. Of Derek and I. The picture was taken in school, when I was helping Derek walk out. His arm was around my shoulders, my arm around his waist. We looked like a couple, not one person deathly sick and the other person failing to help.

 

I breathed deeply trying to calm my nerves. Who took this picture? I knew the answer. Why would they hand deliver it to me? In the middle of the night? Again I knew the answer. But I had a restraining order…one that was obviously not working. I flipped the picture over and saw the words “I better not see you with him again.” My heart started to beat faster and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Shakily, I put the picture back in the envelope and shoved it under my bed. They’re just words, they don’t mean anything. I repeated it to myself like a mantra, and by some strange miracle I was able to fall asleep.

 

I woke in the late afternoon the next day, with a plan. I set to work quickly in the kitchen, layering pasta and vegetables to make lasagna. I threw it in the oven for 20 minutes so it would set. After the 20 minutes were up, I stuffed the hot tray into a bag, and set off down the trail beside my house. It led through the woods, past an old decrepit house, the Hale house. In my dreams, I had somehow made the connection that yesterday’s Derek was the same one whose house and family burned down 10 years ago. I walked up to the old house that had a fancy black car parked outside it. All was quiet as I moved to the door and knocked.

 

A few silent moments passed before the door opened to reveal Derek. A topless Derek. For a second, I lost my concentration, forgot why I came in the first place, as I took in his body. He was covered in sheen of sweat, breathing heavily, his stomach moving in and out slowly. I tore my eyes away from his muscled body to look at his face. He stared down at me, shocked and worried. “Um…” the word cracked in my mouth, giving away my obvious discomfort.

 

Nonchalantly, he grabbed a sweater from a hook inside and threw it on, zipping it up partially to give a modicum of modesty. “I uh…I brought you lasagna. I didn’t think you would be up for cooking after yesterday.” A miscalculation on my part, right now he looked extremely…healthy. He must have been working out when I knocked.

 

His eyebrows raised in surprise, before he grinned down at me. I thought his body was amazing, but it was his smile that was breathtaking. “That’s sweet.” He said, smiling. I handed him the tray gingerly, still standing awkwardly on his porch. He narrowed his eyes at me once again, looking worried. “The lasagna wasn’t the only reason you came here.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. I nodded sheepishly, staring at the floor, tracing patterns on the old wood with my toe. “I have questions. About yesterday.” He nodded, mostly to himself, before standing aside and opening the door for me. “Come in. I’ll explain yesterday, but first you have to eat this lasagna with me.” I smiled at him before stepping inside. The house was dark and quiet, yet instead of feeling scared, I felt safe. Maybe it was just Derek’s presence, he had the aura of … a protector. He turned on the oven and while waiting for it to heat up, he poured two glasses of water. We sat at the counter, a large gap between us.

 

He leant his elbow on the table, head resting in his hand. He shifted himself towards me, smiling. “So, what are your questions?” I decided to start from the beginning. “How did you get that bullet wound? Who would want to hurt you? Why would they want you dead?”

 

“Kate Argent. She wants me dead.” He looked worried, but not about himself. “Argent? As in related to Allison Argent?” I asked. He nodded, looking down at the counter. “Allison is Kate’s niece.” I twisted my fingers together. “I don’t understand, why would she want to kill you?” He shrugged, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “It’s a lineage thing. Old family feud.” I squinted at him. “You’re not telling me something.” He leaned closer to me, his eyes searching mine. “Why should I tell you? I don’t know you. I don’t even know your name.”I leaned away from him, his sudden closeness was distracting. “I took you to the clinic. I helped you. Don’t I deserve some answers?”

 

He nodded before saying, “I still don’t know your name.” 

“Anna, my name is Anna. Now explain. Please.” He smiled briefly, “Anna,” he said rolling my name in his mouth. I felt suddenly self-conscious. “What’s wrong with my name?” he shook his head chuckling, “Nothing’s wrong. I like it.”

 

Suddenly I heard the squeal of tires outside the house. I started to turn to look out the window, but somehow, in a millisecond, Derek had grabbed hold of my shoulders, keeping me in place. He brought a finger to his lips, his eyes dark and worried. A high, strong, female voice called out from outside. “Come out to play, Derek. You have three seconds.”

 

He led me towards a closet in the wall. He opened the door and led me inside with him. The confined space pushed us closer to each other, only an inch of space separated us. He let his hands fall from my shoulders, down my arms, into my hands. “Don’t say anything. That was Kate. She probably only came for information, not to hurt me. But she can’t know that you’re here, otherwise she’ll just consider you collateral. Okay?” I nodded, though I didn’t understand. “I’ll stall her as long as I can, and when she gets distracted, I’m going to come and grab you and we’re going to run. No matter what you see, don’t leave this closet. Promise me.”

 

I nodded, “I’ll stay here until you come for me.” My heart was thudding loudly, and he squeezed my shaking fingers, steadying them, steadying me before leaving the closet. As he closed the door to hide me, he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

 

I opened my mouth to reply, to tell him that this wasn’t his fault, but the door was closed and all I could hear was Kate’s voice saying, “Woops. You’re three seconds are up. Guess I’m coming in then.” I heard the front door slam as she entered the house. I peeked through a crack in the door and saw a woman, whom I assumed to be Kate. She had long, flowing dirty blond hair, a strong face and lithe figure. She was beautiful. I looked down at myself. I had stopped growing a long time ago, and stood at a mere 5’3”. I wasn’t thin and long like her, I was short, and my body had too many curves. My face wasn’t beautiful or striking like hers, mine didn’t demand attention.

 

My pity party was cut short as I saw her stride up to Derek, looking like she was going to shove him into the wall. Fat chance, I thought to myself. Her hands came up and I saw a long metal rod before I saw the flash of electricity, and Derek down on the ground his eyes rolling into the back of his head. I gasped, and then covered my mouth with my hand, hoping she didn’t hear. This is what he meant, why he made me promise to stay. He knew this was going to happen. But I didn’t know this was going to happen, otherwise I wouldn’t have promised. I wanted to leave this closet and run to him, make sure he was okay before killing Kate. Before I could act on my plan, I saw Derek stir, his eyes fluttering.

 

Kate pulled him up from the ground, pinned him against the wall. “Where is he?” she hissed. “Where is the alpha?” What the hell was an alpha. Derek closed his eyes briefly before muttering, “I don’t know.”

 

She pulled him off the wall only to shove him back harder. “You don’t know? I think you just need some convincing.” She slammed the stick into his torso again, causing a shock of electricity to jolt through his body. My breathing started to get laboured. I couldn’t just stay here. While he was in pain. I couldn’t. I had to help him. somehow. Let her hurt me instead of him. Anything to stop him from hurting.

 

He tried to drag himself off the floor only to be shocked again. “Tell me where the alpha is!” she screamed. She walked away from him, into the kitchen. Now was my chance. I would run out of the closet and surprise attack her. I opened the door quickly and saw Derek’s head snap in my direction. His eyes betrayed horror as he figured out what I was going to do. He shook his head quickly, pointed to his body and gave me a thumbs-up. He was faking it. I sighed in relief and retreated back into the closet. Kate walked back into the room holding two glasses. “Two glasses?” she asked Derek. He shook his head, “I drank one and later I got another cup.” She walked up close to him, leaning her face close to his. “Or…someone else is here.”

 

I didn’t have time to process what happened next. Derek seemed to shift quickly, throwing her off balance and grabbing the metal rod in the process. He touched her hand with it quickly and she fell to the ground in a heap, twitching. He sprinted to the closet where I stood and grabbed my hand. “We have to run!” he yelled over his shoulder as we sprinted from the house into the woods. For a few seconds only our footsteps could be heard. Another moment passed, and the air was filled with the sound of gunshots, getting closer. “Damn it,” I heard him mutter. He pulled me behind a large tree. I stood against the trunk, he stood in front of me, his hands planted on either side of my head, his chest heaving. “I need to carry you. We’ll be faster.” I shook my head. “That makes no sense, I’ll weigh you down.” He dropped his hands down to my shoulders gripping them tightly, “Trust me.” he dropped his hands to my waist and said, “Wrap your arms around my neck.” My heart was thudding again, now for different reasons. He leaned down towards me, his face mere inches from mine. Feeling shy, I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging myself to him. He straightened up, my toes were barely touching the floor. He hoisted me up using the hands on my waist. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around him. it was like hugging a tree. Our cheeks were pressed together, I could see over his back. He kept his hands on my waist, and still I couldn’t seem to calm my heart. My breath came out raggedly. “Keep your head down.” He whispered to me. I tucked my head into his neck closing my eyes tightly. My arms were still wrapped around his neck. I moved them into a more useful position; one hand covering his head, the other over his back, right behind where I estimated his heart to be. Keep the important stuff safe. “Hold on to me,” he whispered into my hair, pausing a moment before saying, “Tightly. Hold on tight.” I nodded, tightening my death grip on him. And then we were flying. I could feel his legs moving beneath me, I felt the air whipping past us, and I heard the sound of gunshots receding. He ran for another fifteen minutes until we could no longer hear the gunshots. By now, we were near the edge of the woods and I could see the road a few feet away. We stopped near a tree, Derek released his grip on my and I slid to the ground. My legs were shaky and he grabbed my arms to keep me from falling over. I steadied myself and stepped out of his grasp, worried my knees would continue to shake for reasons other than being shot at.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said looking at the floor. “About all of this, I can’t believe I was so stupid, you could’ve been killed, I don’t – I’m sorry, I’m so sor-” I grabbed his hand. “This isn’t your fault. I was the one who came over, remember?” He ran a hand through his hair as he stared at me. “She saw you. And she’s going to come after you.” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to mask the fear of having Kate after me. “I can take care of myself.” He shook his head, “Not from her.” He looked at me then and said, “Stay with me. Let me protect you. I was the one who got you into this, I don’t care what you think. It’s my responsibility.” I started to shake my head, scared by his sudden intensity, and he grabbed my hands pulling me closer to him, “Please. Please just let me help you. If you get hurt, it’s going to be on me, and I don’t think I could handle that.” I shook my head again, “I don’t-,” he cut me off, and said, “Please.”

 

I looked at the floor and shrugged my shoulders, “Fine. Sure. You can stay at my place; my parents are gone for the next five weeks, so it should be fine.”

 

His eyes scrunched, confused. “Five weeks. They left you alone, for five weeks?” I turned my back to him and started walking towards the road. I didn’t want to show him how much it hurt not to see my parents. To know they didn’t care about me, or love me. Five weeks was relatively short for them. Usually they were gone for months on end. They left enough money so child services wouldn’t be called, but the absence of love, not money, hurt more. “Yes,” I whispered. He caught up to me quickly and we walked to the house in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

I opened the door and walked inside, Derek trailing behind me. I walked up to my room and showed him inside. “This one is mine.” I stated, still thinking about my parents. I tried to look around my room with the perspective of an outsider. Shelves lined with books, the desk stacked with books, books under the bed; in piles on the floor…he probably thought I was insane. I looked over at him, scared of his reaction. He surprised me with his soft smile. “I like it.” I looked at the floor, his smile sending shivers through my body. I looked up, noticing again, his bare torso. I forced my eyes to his face and said, “My dad has some old shirts he won’t miss. They could fit you. I’ll go grab some, okay?” I walked out of my room quickly, feeling uncomfortable.

I was no better than those boys feminists blamed for objectifying women. All I could notice about Derek was his body, his looks. His smile and the way his eyes would crinkle. How his eyes seemed to communicate for him, not his mouth. I shook my head and grabbed a couple of shirts and shorts for Derek. It was hot out. He didn’t need that much. I walked back into my room to see him sitting on my bed. I threw the clothes to him, and he caught them in a neat bunch. “We don’t have a guest room, but we have an inflatable mattress, so um…” I trailed off, unsure of myself. Do I sleep on the bed, or does he? Did I want him to sleep in my bed? Somehow, the thought wasn’t very off putting, even though it should’ve been. I could imagine, when he left, I would be able to smell his scent when I fell asleep. That would lead to sweet dreams for sure. I walked over to my closet and pulled out the heavy plastic and pump. He grabbed them from me, and lifted them off the floor. He sat in the middle of the room, quickly fitting the nozzle of the pump into the bed, and pumping the air in slow, rhythmic movements.

I folded myself onto the floor in front of him, my hands clasped in my lap. He looked up at me, staring at me for a moment. I stared at the floor. “Are you okay?” he asked. I shrugged, and said, “I’m fine.” I bit my lip, something I did when I felt nervous, or when I lied. He reached a thumb out to my face and brushed it against my lower lip, stopping me from biting it. “Are you okay?” he had stopped blowing up the bed, and moved closer so he sat right in front of me. Criss-cross apple sauce. I took a deep breath. “I just- she could have killed you!” I exploded. “I didn’t know what to do, how to help you, I’ve never felt so useless in my life. She was going to kill you and I couldn’t even leave the stupid cupboard.”  My cheeks felt hot and I touched my cold fingers to them, and felt wetness. Now I was crying. How much more pathetic could I get? “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying.” I muttered, wiping roughly at my cheeks.

“Hey, hey,” he said, holding my fingers in his hands. “Look at me. This isn’t your fault. It’s not your job to protect me. It’s my job to protect you. Okay?” I nodded, leaning away from him, moving to my bed. I sat on the edge of it, my arms wrapped around my legs tightly, hoping to keep myself together.

“What are you?” I asked. He looked up at me and seemed to deliberate for a moment before his eyes turned ice blue. I leapt off the bed and onto the floor, and moved in close to him, to see his eyes. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply before his face began to change. Hair grew out in tufts, his face grew, his ears began to point up, his nose somehow flattened. My god. He was a wolf. I reached out shaky fingers to touch his cheek, see if I was hallucinating. His face felt rough, and I trailed my fingers down his cheek and brought my other palm up to cup his cheek.  Slowly his face shifted again, until he was humans. I left my hands on his face for a moment too long before I remembered my place and reluctantly put my hands in my lap. “You’re a wolf? Like in Twilight?” He scoffed and scratched the back of his neck. “Kind of. Not really. No one completely changes.” No one? “There are others?” he nodded. “Different packs. And then, there are the hunters. Kate’s obviously one of them. Allison is in training.”

“You mean she’s training to kill you.”  My hands began to shake. One Kate was enough to unhinge me. “Hey,” he said, ducking his head to look at me, “it’s going to be alright. Stop worrying.” I nodded, biting my lip. “Come on, you should go to sleep. This has been too much in too little time. You need time to process. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up from the floor. His strength caught me by surprise, and I ended up tumbling into his chest. Blushing, I extracted myself from his grasp and climbed into my bed.

I turned on my side and watched Derek get ready for bed through sleepy eyes. he put the linens over the bed, placing his pillow facing my bed, grabbing his phone and flipping through the messages. He walked over to the door and opened it, to reveal Kate. She smiled before whipping a knife out of its sheath and plunging it into his stomach. “No!” I screamed, “Don’t, please don’t. Don’t hurt him.” Derek crumpled to the floor and she crouched low, close to his face and brought the knife to his throat. “Please, stop, please!” she pressed the blade deeper and a line of red appeared. “Stop! Stop it, please don’t hurt him!” I screamed, writhing in my bed.

 

Suddenly strong arms were wrapped around my torso, leaving only my legs to flail around, twisting themselves through the sheets. “Let go, let go!” I yelled, wishing I had the power to break free and help Derek, who was suddenly not there. He wasn’t lying on the floor, dying. No Kate either.

I heard Derek’s soft voice in my ear. “It’s okay Anna, I swear it is okay. It was just a dream. You’re fine, I’m fine, everything’s okay.” He loosened his grip on me, but I just sank back against his chest. Now I was the one holding onto him. “Just a dream?” I asked, shutting my eyes and seeing only darkness. He nodded; I felt his cheek beside mine. “It felt so real. I thought she came back, I thought she was going to kill you.” I turned to him quickly, and placed my fingers on his neck, feeling it for a cut, for blood, for something. Just smooth skin. My hands tripped down his torso. I lifted up his shirt, too scared to feel embarrassed, and looked at his stomach. No blood, no cut, nothing. I dropped his shirt and looked up into his face.  He smiled and ran his hands up and down my arms, trying to bring warmth back into them. “Finished with your inventory?” I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding and crumpled forward into his chest, hiding my face next to his heart. The steady rhythm calmed me. “You’re okay.” I whispered into his shirt.

“I have a question,” he whispered into my ear. I pulled back to look at him. “Why do you care so much? About me, I mean. We’ve only even met once before, and I wasn’t really in the best mood at the time.”

I held onto his fingers, needing to hold some part of him, to keep him safe. “I just – I feel like we’re the same. We don’t have anyone close to us. You have no family, mine is gone all the time. And I wished someone would care about me, and I don’t know, I just – I want you to know that someone cares about you. That I care about you. Even if it seems like I don’t know you.” I took a deep breath and looked down at my lap. I couldn’t look at him anymore, my cheeks were flaming but I had to continue. “You’re special to me. You don’t even know me, yet you still want to go out of your way to protect me. Even when it was my own fault, you still want to help me. How can I not care about someone that compassionate?”

“Compassionate is the last word you’d use to describe me.” he muttered, looking at the wall behind my head.

“That’s a lie,” I whispered fiercely. This moment felt fragile, like I could break it at any moment.

His eyes focused back on mine and he looked surprised at my anger. “You should get back to sleep.” He made a move to leave my bed and I all but tackled him in my haste to stay with him.

I held onto his arms tightly, knowing somehow, that it wouldn’t hurt him. “Please,” I said trying to catch his eyes with mine, “Could you just stay for a little while? Just until I fall asleep? Please?” I gripped his arms tighter, my fingers not even reaching all the way around. He deliberated for a moment, staring at me. He nodded. “Just until you fall asleep.”

“Thank you,” I murmured as he leant back onto the pillow. I lay beside him. “I mean it,” I whispered. My eyes fluttered, exhausted. The words slurred in my mouth, I was almost asleep. My mouth had a mind of its own. “Thank you. For staying with me, for being so understanding. You make me feel safe.” I clamped it shut, realizing what I had just said, how it sounded. I turned to Derek, whose body was already angled towards mine. He lifted a hand, slowly, carefully, measuring every movement. He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand, once, twice, three times. “Go to sleep. You don’t know what you’re saying. I’m not good for you. I don’t make you safe. I put you in danger all the time.” I moved closer to him, pressing my forehead against his chest, not caring that I was being inappropriate. I needed to hear his heart. “Stop it. Stop trying to sound all…” he pushed my hair back from my face, it felt nice. Natural. “All what?” I shrugged. “All tortured and sad. I don’t want you to be sad,” I mumbled against the fabric of his shirt. My eyes fluttered once more and I fell asleep to the sound of his heart.

When I woke in the morning, the bed was empty, just as my room was. All of a sudden, I heard a rain of pebbles hit the window. I looked outside to see a dark car pull away from my house. I didn’t need to see inside the car to know who it was. Another brown envelope was waiting outside my window. I opened the window quickly hoping Derek wouldn’t enter. The envelope felt heavier this time. I pulled out its contents. There was a picture of me on Derek’s porch. A picture or Derek and I with our glasses of water, sitting at his kitchen table. A picture of Derek and I standing behind a tree when Kate was chasing us. A picture of me holding onto Derek whenhe ran us through the woods. A picture of Derek and I sitting on the floor of my room, the crumpled air mattress between us. And finally, a picture of me curled up in Derek’s arms, both of us asleep. I shivered, glanced outside once, before drawing the curtains tightly closed. A note had fallen out with the envelope. “I’ll kill him and then I’ll kill you. Stop this. End it now, and I’ll forgive you. I love you. Forever. Always.” I shuddered and stuffed everything back into the envelope and threw it under the bed. I walked downstairs to find Derek sitting in front of the news. “Good morning.” I said.

He turned to me and said, “Morning.” I sat beside him and tapped his knee. God, he had adorable morning hair. Self consciously I tried to smooth out my untamed curls. “Derek…what I said last night. I just – I was tired. I meant what I said, but maybe I shouldn’t have said it.” He smiled and said, “That made absolutely no sense.” I blushed and looked down. “I just don’t want things to be strange. I want to be your friend. And get to know you. Both sides of you.” He nodded and smiled. “You will.” I glanced away and my gaze landed on the clock. “After school, I suppose,” I said as I jumped up. “See you in a few hours!”

School was a tiring affair. I had to catch up on the work I had missed, and go through the motions of pretending to care. I was walking home when it happened. At first I thought I was paranoid, seeing shadows where they weren’t. And then all of a sudden he was walking beside me like it was the most normal thing to do. I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. Matt. “What are you doing?” I asked, trying to mask the fear in my voice, the battering of my heart. “Nothing. The better question is what you’re doing. With him.” he paused and took a calming breath before he broke out yelling, “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Who the hell do you think you are?” I took a step back, the look in his face frightening me. “Leave me alone,” I said, my voice cracking in fear. “Just stop. You’re not supposed to be here. Just go.” I turned on my heel and ran for my house, not looking back. I heard no footsteps behind me and I sighed. I got to the house quickly, if slightly out of breath and before I could grab my keys, Derek opened the door. He took in my windblown hair and heaving chest. “You okay?” I shook my head, running inside and locking the door quickly. “Yeah, I just ran home.” He lifted his eyebrows, “Why?”

I shrugged, “Washroom?”  He nodded in understanding. I retreated to the washroom where I worked to calm my frayed nerves. Matt wouldn’t come here. He wouldn’t. Would he? Did it matter? Derek was here. I felt safe. But I didn’t want Derek to know about that part of my past. Not if I could help it. I forced myself to stop shaking and walked out of the bathroom and up to my room. Derek was sitting cross-legged on the bed, reading what appeared to be “Lord of the Flies”. He held the book up to me and asked, “Really?” I shrugged. “Not really, I couldn’t get past the first 50 pages. It seemed a bit too….feral for me I guess.” He grinned at me, “Wild children scare you, but actual werewolves don’t.”

“Not when I know the actual wolf, I guess not.” I stared at my hands before moving to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. “Tell me more, about yourself.”

“What do you want to know?” I shrugged my shoulders. “What do you normally do during the day? Do you have a job or go to university?” the words felt stupid in my mouth.

He grinned and shook his head. “No, the wolf thing takes up a lot of time. You know all those disappearances and murders? Well, I try and stop them from happening.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You’re the reason they’ve stopped?” it had been quiet in town, something unheard of.

“Me and a few others.”

“There are others?” He nodded but said, “I can’t tell you who.” I shrugged my shoulders, “Of course you shouldn’t.”

He turned to me, and said, “I don’t know that much about you either.” I moved off the bed and sat on the inflatable mattress. “There’s not that much to know.”

“Sure there is. What’s your favourite colour?”

“Green.”

“What do you want to study in university?”

“Medicine.”

“Favourite book?”

“Can’t decide.”

“What do you mean, you can’t decide? You have hundreds or books here. The closet, your desk, I bet there’s some under your bed too.” he lifted the bed covers up so they exposed the underbelly of my bed. He reached down and grabbed the first thing his hand came into contact with – the brown envelope. “No!” I cried as I lurched forward to grab the envelope from him. but it was too late, he had already opened it and was staring at its contents.

“How could you not show this to me?” he sounded angry.

“What are you talking about? I  didn’t want to look at those pictures, let alone have you look at them!”

“She knows where we are. Damn it. We need to get out of here, she’ll be coming.”

“Who’s coming?” I asked, confused. “Kate!” He exploded. “She’s coming. She already knows where you live. She knows we’re here.”

I calmed down at his wrong assumption. “Derek, look at the notes. This isn’t from Kate.” He looked over the notes, his brow furrowing. “Who then?” he asked, his tone dangerous, deadly.

I shook my head, not wanting to admit it. “It doesn’t matter. I have it handled. It’s okay.”

“No it’s not! This – this person if following you, stalking you! Tell me who it is.”

I shook my head and turned away. “I can’t. I won’t. I talked to him. He’s going to stop.”

Derek stepped forward, trying to catch my eyes with his. “Please. Please just tell me. I can’t keep you safe if some stalker is watching over you. Please.”

Maybe it was the way his face seemed worried, how soft his voice was, but something in me gave way. “It’s Matt. He and I…we used to date, and um, things didn’t end very well.”

“I’ll go and talk to him right now. He won’t come near you again. I promise.” I could hear the promise in his voice and the idea of never seeing Matt again made me feel safer than I had in months, but I couldn’t allow Derek near Matt. It wasn’t safe, and if Derek got hurt because of me…

I grabbed Derek’s hand as he began to walk for the door. “Derek please, I talked to him, he said he’d stay away, so just please, please stay here. Please?”

He seemed to be deliberating. “Please?” I murmured, grabbing both of his hands in mine. His eyes seemed to unfocus and he forced a nod. “Alright. But if this happens again, I’m going to talk to him.”

Somehow I had the feeling that his “talk” would be a physical one. I looked around my room for something to distract him. I grabbed Lord of the Flies from my desk and handed it to him, “Here read this. Enjoy kids going crazy.”

He rolled his eyes and flopped onto the bed, stretching the length of his body along it, his feet dangling off the edge. I finished my homework quickly, and made us dinner. Lasagna, ironically. He grinned when he saw the plates, carefully placed the book on my desk and stood up to grab the food.

“I was thinking we could watch a movie or something.” I said quietly, unsure why I felt so nervous.

“Sure.” He replied and followed me back downstairs into the living room. We sat on opposite ends of the couch and soon the opening title of a romantic comedy filled the screen. I looked over at him, “Is this okay?” I asked. He shrugged, “It ‘s fine.” I turned back to my food, suddenly unsure of myself and awkward. I was aware of the large gap between us. Was it normal to sit this far from someone? Why didn’t we sit a regular distance from each other? Was it last night’s horrible nightmare that maintained the distance between us? As if reading my thoughts Derek moved closer to me and placed his palm over my hand.

“Are you okay? After last night I mean.”

God. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I turned to look him in the eye, the movie forgotten. “I’m sorry about that. I must have freaked you out. I don’t know why, that’s never happened before.”

“Don’t be sorry. I just want you to feel safe, okay?”

“I do.” Funnily enough the women on screen repeated the same words a second after I did; she was getting married to the main lead. I turned to the screen. “That was a sweet movie.”

He snorted and said, “You’re such a sop. That was the most fake acting I’ve seen in my life.”

“The actors are married in real life!”

This seemed to stump him. “Fine. I still say they were stiff.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because they love each other.”

“What do you know about love?” he asked, smiling at me.

I felt my cheeks turn pink and I looked down at my fingers. “Not much. I wish I did though.” I rolled my eyes, “God, I sound like such a typical girl.”

He shook his head chuckling, “No, you sound perfect.”

I looked down at my hands, and asked, “What do you know about love?”

He replied, “Not much, but I’m starting to.”

I stood up and stretched, yawning, “Ah, to be young and in love.” I looked down and smiled at him before saying I was going to bed. He followed me up and immediately lay down on the air mattress while I sat on my bed. He lay on his side and turned to face me.

“You okay?”

I lay on my side and tried to stop my fingers from shaking. I didn’t want to repeat last night. I was scared of the nightmares that would come with darkness.

“I’m okay.”

He reached up with one arm and grabbed my fingers in his. His touched warmed my skin and stilled my fingers. “If you have nightmares, I’ll be right here. I’ll wake you up.” I nodded and closed my eyes. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey you guys, hope you like this part its one of my favourites, hope it’s your as well! let me know what you think - any feedback would be appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke in the morning, Derek was gone and sunlight was shining through the window onto the bed. Groggily I got up and made my way downstairs. I found Derek in the kitchen making pancakes. “You have too much time on your hands.” I murmured, not wanting to surprise him. “What time did you get up?” He shrugged and said, “An hour ago.”  He slid the pancakes onto two plates and brought them into the dining room.

He grinned when I lay my head on my arms. “Still tired? You slept like a log last night.”

I smiled. “No screaming, no freaking out?”

He chuckled in response, a mischievous smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

“What?” I asked, feeling self conscious.

“Nothing…it’s just…you said my name a couple of times in your sleep. That’s all.”

I shrugged, trying to downplay my embarrassment. “Well you were sleeping two feet away from me…it was bound to happen.”

I nodded to my pancakes, inwardly groaning at my awful attempt at reasoning. “Hey,” I said, switching topics, “I won’t be here in the evening, I have to go to this school dance.”

He looked at me then, his eyebrows raised. “A dance?”

I shrugged, “It’s stupid, but my friend wanted me to go with her, but then some guy asked to go with her, but she still wants me to come in case he turns out to be a dud. I’m going to be the awkward third wheel all night long.”

He chuckled, “I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

“Oh yeah, high school dances are the best. Hey, what time is it?” He rocked back on his chair to peer into the kitchen, “It’s 8:45.”

 

“Crap!” I said as I sprang out of my chair. Too fast, too fast. With a grunt of pain I curled inward, trying to lessen the pain in my back. Derek was up and out of his chair, crouching beside me, a soft hand on the small of my back. “What’s wrong, what hurts?” his voice worried.

I shook my head; it hurt too much to speak. I took a couple of steadying breaths and slowly straightened up.

“What the hell was that?” Derek asked.

I shook my head trying to clear it. “I have some back problems, sorry I scared you.”

“How do you have back problems, you’re seventeen!” I shrugged my shoulders, “I’m going to be late for school.” I ran up the stairs and grabbed my bag and then ran back out the door. I didn’t want to explain myself to Derek. Again. Somehow, he was peeling away all my secrets, revealing all my vulnerabilities. But strangely, instead of making me feel naked and awkward, somehow, I felt stronger in his presence.

 

I shook my head at the confusing thoughts as I entered the school. The hallways were quiet, class was about to start. I rushed to my locker only to find Matt standing in front of it. “Excuse me,” I said to the floor. I saw his feet move closer to mine and felt the pressure of his hand on my arm. I felt goose bumps blossom on my skin and I stepped backward out of his grasp, holding my bag in front of me like a shield. His touch made me want to throw up. My back tingled. “Leave me alone,” I said, wishing my voice would stop shaking. He smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach his eyes and I knew he was only doing it for the benefit of the cameras in the hallway.

 

“Are you coming to the dance tonight?” I bit the inside of my cheek, and shook my head, “I don’t really know. I have to get to class okay?” I abandoned my locker and sped down the hall as the second bell went off.

 

The day passed by slowly after that. Everywhere I went, Matt seemingly appeared out of this air. The entire day was spent in a state of paranoia, and when it came time to go home, I sprinted down the neighbourhood streets, not caring if I looked crazy. When I got to the house, Derek opened the door for me and the tight feeling in my chest slowly evaporated. I took my first real breath of the day. “Hi,” I murmured, slightly out of breath and pink from the sprint.

 

“Any reason you decided to run home? In a dress?”

“So I could see you sooner!” I said, smiling. It was true, when I was with Derek, I felt safer, safe from Matt at the very least.

He rolled his eyes not believing me, “If you don’t want to tell, you don’t have to.”

I squeezed his arm as I passed by him towards the stairs. At the top of the stairs, I turned around and looked down. “We’re…. we’re friends, right?” as soon as the words left my mouth, I felt sick to my stomach. What was I thinking? What would he say? Would he think I was crazy?

“Of course we’re friends.” He said, grinning up at me.

“Then it follows, that I would be excited to see my friend.”

 

He shrugged, conceding defeat. “I’m taking a shower,” I announced, before running to my room to restart my heart. I grabbed the dress I was wearing to the dance out of my closet and walked into the washroom. I struggled to find the perfect temperature for the shower and got in. The warm water running down my back calmed me down and warmed my shaking fingers. I couldn’t let Matt get to me. I wouldn’t. I stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. I dried my hair with a towel and let it hang loose. Not a lot of effort, but this wasn’t a dance I was especially excited for. I would probably spend it alone. I would rather stay at home with Derek, but I’d made a promise. I pulled on my dress and tried to zip up the back, to no avail.

 

I walked out of the bathroom and to my room where light was streaming out. “Derek?” I called, “Could you zip me up?”

I saw him in my room and walked up to him just as he looked up. I turned around and presented him with the zipper, feeling bold and vulnerable at the same time. I heard the shuffle of his feet as he got up, felt the slight tug of the zipper as he eased it up the dress. He kept one finger above the zipper, trailing it up my back before it was covered by the dress. When he got to the deepest curve of my back, I tensed, waiting for the sharp pain that usually accompanied that area. Instead, I felt the soft touch of his finger, and the sensation of being surrounded by clouds. I had never felt so…painless.

 

He finished zipping up the dress and I spun around to look at him. “How do I look?” I asked, striking a pose, hoping for a laugh. I wanted him to relax, I felt bad for making him worry about my safety all the time.

He stared at me, not making a move to say anything. I let my arms drift to my sides and felt my cheeks heat up. “Maybe I should find something else to wear…” I turned to my closet when I heard a strangled, “No!” come from Derek’s mouth. “You…you look perfect.”

 

I looked down trying to hide my blush, but I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.

“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t fishing for compliments?”

He smiled and nodded, “Whatever you need to tell yourself.” I threw my towel at him and he caught it quickly and balled it up before lobbing it at my head. We continued our game until I heard the honk of Sarah’s car outside. I quickly strapped on my heels as I walked to the door, hopping around from foot to foot. Derek held his hand to the small of my back, steadying me as I tripped around. Before I could open the door he placed his hands on the sides of my arms and spun me around to look at him. “I’ll be close by, okay?” he looked at me seriously and I nodded. “You don’t have to worry about him.” I looked at the floor, but I didn’t want to seem childish, so I glanced back up and said, “I’m not. And you need to stop worrying about me. Okay?” I squeezed his forearm slightly, before I walked out the door, giving him a quick wave goodbye.

 

The dance was everything I was scared it would be. No lighting, pounding music, and Sarah ditching me at the first available second to go make out with her date. The dance took place in the gym and I wandered around the punch table, periodically filling my napkin with chips and pretzels. I walked outside of the gym to get some air. I didn’t know it was possible to get that claustrophobic that quickly. i breathed in the cool air and took in my surroundings. A few others stood outside with me, texting on their phones. A little further down the hall Matt stood leaning against the wall. Our eyes met across the distance and he started moving towards me. I felt my heart shift into overdrive and stumbled back into the dance. and found Matt lurking in the corner. I squished myself onto the dance floor hoping to lose him. I ended up on the other side of the gym, near the bleachers. Resignedly, I took a seat a couple rows up and picked through the chips finding my favourites and tossing the rejects under the bleachers.

 

A slow song came on and soon the bleachers emptied out as people went in search of their current significant others. I stared longingly into the throng of people on the dance floor. I wished that I was bound to someone, that someone was bound to me, in an intricate weave of little moments, special secrets, and beautiful handprints. Instead, I had parents who were never around, never called, and never cared. And Matt, the psychotic creep who was anything but the people on the dance floor. Looking out into the crowd I felt utterly alone, and I hated myself for it. It’s your own fault, you always push them away. Anyone who comes close enough to know you is just that much closer to hurting you.

 

Just then, I saw a dark figure moving towards me. I shrank against the stands; I didn’t want to see Matt again. Try as I might to ignore it, he still made me scared. The figure moved closer and I realized it was too big to be Matt. Then the shadows fell away and I saw it was Derek. I beamed widely at him and walked over to the edge of the dance floor where he stood.

“Why are you by yourself? Where’s your friend?” He asked, worry seeping into his tone. I grabbed his hand in mine, glad he was here and not Matt. I shrugged my shoulders. “I think she’s with her date. Somewhere in there,” I said, gesturing to the dance floor.

 

He smiled at me and asked, “Why aren’t you dancing?”

I looked down at our hands, suddenly feeling awkward, yet excited. “You need a partner for this kind of song.” I said, hoping he couldn’t see the blush in my cheeks.

He smirked, looking at the boys remaining on the bleachers. “None of them appeal to you?”

I paused not wanting to sound harsh. “I don’t appeal to them.”

He laughed, “Now that’s a lie. Ever since I got here, all I’ve seen are boys’ heads turning when you walk by.”

I rolled my eyes, “You need your eyes checked then.”

He looked at me then, catching my eyes with his. “I can see perfectly clearly.” I smiled, not having a good response.

 

“Dance with me.” he said suddenly. He pulled me onto the dance floor and placed my hands round his necks and settled his hands on my waist. We were close. Incredibly close. Too close. I found it hard to pull air into my suddenly constricted chest. My heart was thumping loudly and it felt as if my lungs couldn’t expand. I could practically feel his body on mine, and I couldn’t stop smiling. I couldn’t breathe, but if this was what it felt like to drown, then I would gladly jump into the ocean with weights on my feet.

 

His closeness made me dizzy and I found myself clinging closer to him, to stay steady, to smell his scent, to feel his frame under my hands. He squeezed my waist slightly, trying to get my attention. I realized he had been calling my name while I had been mindlessly staring into his eyes.

 

“Anna?” He asked. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, ducking my head down to hide my blush. Was it that obvious how his mere closeness had an effect on me? I felt one of his hands move from my waist and my heart stopped. Was this moment over before it had even begun? Maybe he realized that I wasn’t right, that I was awkward and self-conscious and horrible with any relationship. Instead of stepping away like I expected him too, he grabbed my chin and lifted it to look at him. “Why are you always doing that?” he asked. “Why won’t you look at me?”

 

I exhaled, feeling relieved. He wasn’t going to leave. That was enough for me. I clasped my hands tighter to his broad shoulders. “I feel like you read me too well. I feel like, if you look at me too long, you’ll know everything about me.”

 

He leaned closer, his face mere inches from mine. “What’s so bad about that?” he murmured, barely opening his mouth. I struggled to breath, my breath rattling into my mouth in small gasps. I wanted to capture this moment and live in it forever, live in this state of euphoria, of heightened sense for the rest of my life. “I’m not who you think I am. I’m not special, or smart, or pretty, or athletic. If you look at my too long, I’m scared you’ll find something you won’t like.” I bit my lip, not wanting to say more, not wanting to ruin the moment more than I already had. I looked up at him and his eyes were full of something I couldn’t name.

 

“I’ll always want you.” he whispered before his lips closed over mine. My breath caught in my chest and I didn’t know it was possible to fly until this moment, because it felt like I was walking on clouds, like I was weightless in his arms, that the simple pressure of his lips on mine could allow me to feel impossible. I clutched myself closer to him, wanting to lose myself in him and his arms pulled me in tighter still, the music was pounding but all I could hear was silence, all I could feel was him and me and perfection. And then.

  
The fire alarm went off. We broke apart quickly as the tide of bodies pushed us to the exit. I held tightly to his hand as we walked out into the brisk cold air. I could hear teachers screaming at us to get farther back from the school. We walked further onto the field until we were at the tree line. I turned to Derek, wanting to look at his face when I saw a dark figure standing behind him. Before I could open my mouth, Derek crumpled to the ground, his hand slipping out of mine. The figure stepped forward and in the moonlight, I could see a small smile. The figure raised its hand and touched me with a baton. I felt the electric volts for a second before everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is my absolute favourite, I worked super hard to make it as perfect as possible so I really, really, really want your feedback! also, thanks for all the support and love! stay sweet :)


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